


Violets

by nevereverever



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Activism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Based on A Little Fall of Rain, Eponine and Cosette are sisters, F/M, Fight me on it, Friends as Family, Gen, Gun Violence, Hospitals, Jean Valjean adopts all the Thenardiers!, Love, Major Character Injury, Minor Kierkegaard Bashing, Nobody Dies, Panic Attacks, Sad, Whump, platonic and romantic love, supportive friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 16:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15222692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevereverever/pseuds/nevereverever
Summary: In their meeting at Musain the night before the Planned Parenthood event they’d promised to help with, they hashed out the final details and assigned jobs. They were reminded to bring raincoats, extra pens, and the organizer t-shirts to help with identification in a crowd.They didn't plan for violence. They didn't plan for injuries.





	Violets

**Author's Note:**

> Hey lovely Les Mis folks! I will admit that I have a thing with A Little Fall of Rain. My favorite song in the musical. I was looking through this treasure trove of work looking for this fic: that situation in a modern setting where nobody dies and there are 0 love triangles. So I wrote it instead. Trigger warnings for blood, gun violence, and PTSD panic attacks. Please be safe lovely readers <3

In their meeting at Musain the night before the Planned Parenthood event they’d promised to help with, they hashed out the final details and assigned jobs. They were reminded to bring raincoats, extra pens, and their organizer t-shirts to help with identification in a crowd. 

“Okay people, my final reminder is that our fundraising goal is 5000 dollars, we’re meeting at the steps of the state house, that’s gonna be our home base,” Enjolras smiled, a rarity, “and give yourselves a hand for getting this together so quickly!” There was a smattering of applause and a few whoops before someone put on some music and the meeting dissolved.

They chatted for a few hours about anything and everything. By the time it hit midnight, just the core of the group was left in the little back room they had reserved for the meeting. Cosette was perched in Marius’ lap, Grantaire was a little drunk and had his head on Enjolras’ thigh, and Eponine was sitting with her back against the wall, shoulder to shoulder with Combeferre. 

“I’m just saying, if Kierkegaard is so fucking smart, why can’t he write a thesis to save his goddamn life!”

“You’re wrong, but I’m too tired to properly refute you,” Grantaire finished his sentence with a yawn and the conversation slowed to a stop.

The silence was warm and comfortable. Eponine put her head on Combeferre’s shoulder and sighed.

“We should get to sleep, we’re up early tomorrow,” she said with a yawn. Darn R and his stupid contagious yawning.

“Seconded! All in favor?” Cosette raised her hand and giggled her adorable tinkling laugh, “Good, we’re going,” she said with a sleepy smile. She pushed herself off of Marius and promptly tripped over her own feet. The room had a little laugh at her expense while Marius stabilized her with a hand around her waist. Cosette leaned into his touch. 

“Night, Ponine,” she said, blowing a kiss.

“Night, Cosie. See you in the morning.” Eponine caught the kiss in the air. Marius laughed and tugged Cosette out the door, throwing back a goodnight for good measure.

“Soulmates, those two,” she proclaimed to the room, beaming. 

“To soulmates,” Grantaire yelled, raising his glass.

“That’s my cue to take off. Goodnight everyone, much love et cetera. See you in the morning!” Eponine laughed at the chorus of goodbye shouted after her as she walked out the door into the crisp air of the night. 

 

The plan was a fundraising drive rally combo, fundraising across the city and in front of the statehouse from noon to 3:00, with speakers at 3:00, a march from 4:00 to 4:45, and with volunteers collecting money throughout. Roundup at 6:30, and a meeting back at the Musain at 8:00. It was a packed day, and work for the organizers started at 5:30 am with set up and volunteer coordinating. 

So when Marius heard gunshots ring out, he wasn’t as quick on his feet as he should have been. He wasn’t prepared for violence that day, none of them were. He had gone to get coffee for the volunteers, he didn’t have his mind in the right place. His brain started scrambling, people were screaming and running around him. What was the plan, what was the plan, where was he supposed to be. Paralyzed, he realized his phone was ringing. Next step, pick it up. Next step, next step. 

“Marius! Is that you?” he managed to stutter out a yes, “We’re moving people into the statehouse. Get here.” Marius couldn’t make out who the voice was in the commotion and confusion.

“People are running, where are the shots coming from?”

“Get here, Marius!.” The person on the other line had hung up, but they gave him his next step. Next step, run. 

He was running the opposite direction of the screaming masses, it was like swimming upstream. He heard more shots go off and was vaguely aware he was running towards the source of the sound. It didn’t really matter, he needed to find his friends, make sure everyone was okay. Next steps. Steps. He got to the steps of the statehouse, homebase. He remembered Enjolras saying that last night, with a little smile on his face. God, Enjolras might be dead. He got inside the building and saw a hundred people littered through the entrance way, some crying, some screaming, many injured. He scanned the crowd for a face he knew.

“Ferre!” He shouted, catching his friend’s attention. He could see his friend’s eyes widen as he ran, pulling him into a bone crushing hug.

“Where is everyone, are they okay? What about Cosette, oh god, where is she?” Marius asked, voice and hands shaking. 

“E and R are in the building, taking care of people, I saw Cosette just a moment ago, helping people, maybe w-with police. She’s okay, shaken up, but who isn't? I think- I think they got the shooter. The police, but they’re holding us here. I don’t think any of the other boys are here- Courf and Joly called, they’re at home” Combeferre was clearly scared out of his mind, but his words came as a huge comfort to Marius. He took a deep breath before realizing what was missing. 

“Eponine!” He said with a start. He looked at Ferre for confirmation of her safety but didn’t get any, scanned the room again for her face, but saw nothing. His eyes caught on the door, and before he knew it he was running out of it, past the police blocking the entrance, down the steps and into the courtyard. He had been too dazed the first time he ran through to see the damage. 

There were people on the ground, not moving, blood soaking through their clothing, and there were police everywhere, weapons brandished. Protest signs were abandoned on the ground, and the tables and tents they’d set up just that morning had been toppled. He heard a few more shots, and though it scared him, he kept pushing on. He had to find Eponine. 

“Ponine? Eponine, where are you?” He screamed, barely caring that he was drawing attention to himself in an active shooter situation. He had to find her, find his oldest friend, the person he loved so dearly an with so much of his heart.

“Marius?” A ragged voice rang out from across the grass. It took him a second, but his eyes locked on her, and he ran to her, adrenaline pounding a terrifying rhythm in his ears.

Looking at her was was to feel his heart shatter. Her face was stark white and there was a stain of red across her chest. She was lying up against a rock, tears dripping down her face.

“Ponine, you’re- you're,” he said, pulling her closer so her head rested in his lap. He wanted to hold her, but every first aid training he’d ever done told him not to. He pulled off his jacket and pressed it to her wound as hard as he possibly could, willing it to stop her from bleeding.

“Don’t worry Marius, it doesn’t hurt, I don’t feel any pain. It doesn’t hurt. I’m so glad you’re here,” She was smiling, her brows furrowed, as if she was most worried about him. He ran a hand over her head to check for more injuries, but then lingered on her cheek, clammy with sweat.

“You’re going to be okay. I promise, help is coming, you’re going to be okay.” Marius took the hand that wasn’t pressed to the wound in her stomach and stroked her hair. The overcast sky that had been threatening since morning had opened up, showering them with gentle rain. She laughed, then winced.

“My raincoat. The one E said to bring. It’s in my car. Well, rain can hardly hurt me now,” she smiled again, her eyes drifting closed, “tell the boys to politicize the fuck out of my death. Tell E and R to get their shit together and start dating. Tell Zelma and Gav they deserve the world.” She took a ragged gasping breath in.

“Tell my sister- tell Cosette, tell her I love her, and to live a happy life.” Eponine’s head nodded a little, like she was falling asleep. “Scatter me in a garden, Marius. Grow violets or something.” She kept taking gasping little breaths, each one shallower than the last. Her hand wandered until it was against his, trying to hold them both together.

“No, come on. Stay with me. You can tell her yourself, Ponine. Help will be here in a few minutes, but I need you to be strong and stay here with me. You’re being so brave.”

“Marius, just- just let me have these last moments with you. You live a good, full life, and you take care of Cosette. I swear if you hurt her I will-” she took a sharp pained breath, “I will haunt you so hard. I love you so much, Marius, so you live. Live.” Marius nodded furiously, and pressed even harder on the gunshot wound trying to take his best friend.

“Hold me til I sleep, okay?” Her words were slurring, and it was getting harder and harder for her to keep her eyes open. Her head lolled to the side, and she could feel it, she could feel the last of her energy seeping away. He pulled her a little closer, cradled her body in his arms, like getting closer could save them.

“No, no, you can’t go. We are going to have so many more moments together, you hear me? When you get better, Cosette will bake you coconut cream cake and we will have movie night and you can choose the movie and the three of us will curl up on the couch together. But right now, you need to stay awake for me, please, please, just stay awake,” He was getting desperate, tears leaking from his eyes and mixing with the rain. He could see people with a stretcher rushing towards them.

“The flowers, Marius,” she whispered, “I’m so tired.”

“I’ve got you, okay? You’re going to be okay. Help is here, Ponine, help is here.” Before he could fully realize what was happening, the paramedics were taking Eponine away from him. He looked down and saw her blood on his hands, and god help him, it felt like the world was ending. He tried to stay with her, he wanted to keep her safe, but strong hands pushed back against his chest.

 

A paramedic ushered him back towards the building with a shock blanket in his hands, but the tears in his eyes made it hard to see. When he finally got up the stairs and into the lobby, he saw his friends sitting together, solemn looks on their faces, tears staining their cheeks. He stumbled over towards them, and caught Cosette’s gaze. She was wrapped around him in the blink of an eye. Safe with his friends, in his girlfriend’s arms, Marius broke. He collapsed into her, so weak that she lowered them both to the ground. He couldn't bring himself to put his hands on her back, stained as they were.

“Baby, what happened? Where’s Eponine?” Cosette was rubbing circles into his back, but he still couldn’t get enough air into his lungs to tell her the answer. Their friends circled around them, all soothing voices and soft words of encouragement.

When Marius finally pulled himself together, he looked up at the expectant faces of the people he loved, and it was all he could do not not cry.

“Eponine, she was- she was shot. I- I found her and, and she thought she was going to die. They wouldn’t take me- in the ambulance, and they made me come back here. She’s with- she’s going to the hospital.” He just managed to stutter out a sentence before his tears overwhelmed him again. Cosette wrapped around him again, and though she was trying to be strong he could feel her sobbing. Enjolras walked up to them with words on his lips.

“Well, I’ve spoken to the police, and they said there were two shooters, and they have both of them in custody. We’re allowed to go.”

 

The hospital waiting room had couches in it, so they didn’t sit far from each other. The warmth and pressure of touch helped all of them stay grounded, just barely. The room was by no means quiet. Families of victims and nurses milled around. They were still wearing their “organizer” t-shirts, so those of them who were closer to sanity spent time talking to the families. 

Marius and Cosette had their heads bowed in conversation when the surgeon they first spoke to walked over.

“You all are here for Eponine Thenardier?” He looked them over, all of them with shaking hands and tired faces. Cosette stood, she was the only one who was family, by the hospital's rules. The doctor continued. 

“Eponine is stable. We were able to stop the bleeding and repair the damage the bullet caused to her stomach and spleen. Due to the nature of the injury, her biggest hurdle now is infection, but with constant monitoring and antibiotics, we’re confident in her ability to recover.” Cosette could barely breathe. Not thinking about it, she flung her arms around the doctor.

“Thank you. Thank you for saving my sister,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes again. Coming to her senses, she let go of him. He smiled, half joy and half pity.

“Can I see her?” Cosette asked, tentative again. She put a hand on Marius' shoulder.

“Yes, the anesthesia has to wear off, but she should be conscious in about an hour. Because she’s sensitive to infection, we’d ask you to limit visitors to two at a time. She’s in room 318.” Cosette thanked the doctor and turned to her friends. The looks on their faces were hard to parse. Somewhere between joy, grief, and anger.

“You all can go home. Marius and I have it locked down here. Take care of each other, okay?” She smiled a little, and for the first time since before the shots were fired, it didn’t feel forced. Marius perked up at the mention of his name; he was crying again, of relief this time.

There were hugs all around as Enjolras, Grantaire, and Combeferre started to leave. Just as they were making their way to the elevator, Marius remembered what Eponine told him to say.

“Boys,” he called down the hallway, “Eponine told me- she told me to tell E and R to ‘get their shit together and start dating.’ Take that as you will.” The looks that Enjolras and Grantaire gave each other in that moment were the best thing Marius had ever seen, and he couldn’t wait to tell Eponine. 

 

The first thing Eponine felt when she woke up was pain, ike nothing she had ever felt. She was in pain, and she was exhausted. She called out for the first person who came to mind, the first person that she always wanted whenever life knocked her down.

“Cosie?” she rasped, blinking her eyes open to find a bright and blearly world around her. Everything felt heavy, and she was fighting every second to stay awake

“Oh god, Ponine! I’m so glad you’re awake.” Cosette stood and ran a hand through Eponine’s hair. It was comforting, the one part of the moment that felt like home.

“Am I- am I okay?” Eponine felt like her head was on wrong, everything was getting to her through molasses. She needed to know... what else did she need to know..

“Yeah hon, you’re gonna be just fine. They hit you in the stomach and spleen, but you're okay now, I promise. I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you, I promise. You are so brave, and so strong.” Cosette started crying again. She couldn’t get herself to stop today.

“Where are the boys? Are they hurt? Is anyone dead?” She couldn't get enough out of her head fast enough, she needed to know...

“No, nobody died. Apparently- the sh- they didn’t plan well. You’re one of the people who was hurt the most, you’re the only one of our friends that got hurt,” she paused for a second, “Marius is getting us some food from the cafeteria. We haven’t eaten since the - since yesterday.” Her brain wouldn’t let her put words to what happened yet. Hadn’t quite sunk in. 

“‘M tired, Cosie.” Keeping herself awake was hard, and it hurt so much. Cosette grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“You rest. Zelma, Gav, and Dad will be here soon.” Cosette kept speaking, but Eponine couldn’t make her words out after a moment, and drifted off into a deep and painful sleep.

 

It was two and a half weeks before they would let Eponine go home. When they finally did, it was a Wednesday, and that meant a meeting at Musain. She begged Cosette not to tell anyone, and she kept her word. She didn’t even tell Marius, which was pretty hard. She’d very nearly cracked when she told him she was taking a whole day off from the lab. 

Eponine was getting used to the cane they had given her, and that afternoon, Cosette had helped her tape it in the colours of the pan flag, so it was all cute. She walked through the door to their favorite bar and lingered for a moment at the doorway, relishing the familiar sights and smells. Slowly but surely, she made her way to the back room. Cosette walked in first.

“Hey guys! I thought I’d bring a something special to this meeting,” Cosette said in a little sing song voice. Eponine tried to muffle her laugh in her hand.

“Did you bring brownies?” Someone, Courf probably, asked.

“Nope, something better.” She could hear the smile in her sister’s voice. Figuring that was her cue, Eponine walked through the door, absolutely beaming. Her friends had visited her at the hospital, but this, this was everything. They were everything.

“Stronger than I look, folks.”

The room erupted into a joyous chaos. She hugged absolutely everyone, some people twice. Once they settled down, Eponine politely reminded them that they still had a meeting to run. Enjolras agreed, and they started, same as always. 

They had been doing a lot of gun control work since the shooting, and for good reason. They were working with one of the injured legislators on a bill to increase background checks. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough that the men who had shot at them wouldn’t have been able to get their hands on a gun. Eponine had done interviews in support of the movement in the hospital and they were making good progress.

When they finished they did their usual hanging around, talking about anything and everything. Everything was going well, just about the best night Eponine had enjoyed since the shooting. Everything was going swimmingly, until something fell over in the bar. The slamming of a box falling from where it was carefully perched on top of a shelf. The noise echoed for a second before the conversation resumed.

It wasn’t instant. She listened to the conversation for a while, before becoming aware that she couldn’t really get a full breath in anymore. Being aware of it didn’t help. She was all in her head, and she couldn’t breathe. The last time she couldn’t breathe was, god oh god. Nothing felt safe. She was in her favorite place in the world with all her favorite people and everything was wrong, nothing was safe. She couldn't breathe.

Her friends noticed. After a few minutes, Grantaire caught Marius’ eye and raised his eyebrows. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for Marius to realize what was going on. As cover, Grantaire engaged the boys in a very heated discussion on something or other. Marius put his hand on Eponine’s knee and drew slow circles with his thumb. Cosette wrapped her arms around her big sister's waist.

“Ponine, it’s okay, you’re safe. I need you to slow down your breath, okay?” Marius whispered soothingly. He kept moving his thumb in the same repetitive motion, trying to keep her grounded.

“I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe, Marius.”

“Yes you can. You’re safe okay? Breathe with me.”

 

They finally had their movie night a few weeks later, just after Eponine was cleared to go back on a fully solid diet. There were no other people that night, just the three of them, a coconut cream cake, and Love Simon, Eponine’s choice. Like Marius had promised, they curled up on the couch, sharing one blanket between them. Their arms and legs were tangled together in a mess of cold toes and body heat and love. 

The movie is over, has been for a half hour, but all three of them are reluctant to move. Someone whispers a soft “love you” into the quiet air. There is a soft hum of affirmation as they fall asleep in each others arms, content in their family.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed that! If it made you feel feelings, please tell them to me in the comments <3


End file.
